Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, police officers were instructed to say “Move along, nothing to see here” whenever people got nosy and tried to watch them work. The same can be said about this week of fantasy baseball. The Carlins have a 91-71 lead over Drunkin’ Drafters, and this is about what the score should be. Drunkin’ Drafters used one start, one by Alex Cobb and earned -1 points from it. The Carlins used two starts. One was by Cole Hamels that earned 14 points and the other was by Tony Cingrani which earned 23.

The only peak performer on either team comes in the form of Jose Bautista for the Drunkin’ Drafters who has already hit three home runs this week. Bautista might be one of my favorite players of all-time. He has never been linked to steroids and still somehow “Brady Andersoned” his career and is now a pure home run hitter with some average. He’s cocky too in a good way. Two seasons ago I remember someone saying he wouldn’t repeat his home run tear. The first game of the season he went deep. He said, “One game, one home run.” He did the same thing the next night.

Jose Bautista is Canada’s baseball player. When I went to Toronto two years ago, he was all anyone cared about. He’s also the guy on the cover of the Canadian version of baseball video games. I’m not sure how much they care about baseball in places like Vancouver or Edmonton, but Bautista is a Canadian Baseball God. I’m happy for the guy. In an old baseball video game I used to have, MVP 2005, whenever Travis Chapman would come up to bat they would call him Jose Bautista. I might be the only person who remembers this mistake. It’s a good mistake to remember. I can now see there is some justice in this world.

Justin Verlander and James Shields will pitch today for Drunkin’ Drafters. Nobody takes the mound for the Carlins so more than likely the lead will be lost. The only positive is that Verlander and Shields are pitching against each other so like Highlanders, there can only be one winner.

These are my projections for the 2013 MLB season. If you happen to disagree or would like to know why I chose the way I did then feel free to leave a comment. Of course I won’t be 100% because I didn’t match up schedules and all that stuff to even find out if this was possible.

AL East

Toronto Blue Jays W: 94 L: 68

Tampa Bay Rays W: 92 L: 70

Baltimore Orioles W: 83 L: 79

New York Yankees W: 79 L: 83

Boston Red Sox W: 75 L: 87

AL Central

Detroit Tigers W: 91 L: 71

Chicago White Sox W: 84 L: 78

Kansas City Royals W: 79 L: 83

Cleveland Indians W: 69 L: 93

Minnesota Twins W: 64 L: 98

AL West

Los Angeles Angels W: 86 L: 76

Texas Rangers W: 83 L: 79

Oakland Athletics W: 77 L: 85

Seattle Mariners W: 68 L: 94

Houston Astros W: 52 L: 110

NL East

Washington Nationals W: 96 L: 66

Atlanta Braves W: 85 L: 77

Philadelphia Phillies W: 82 L: 80

New York Mets W: 75 L: 87

Miami Marlins W: 68 L: 94

NL Central

Cincinnati Reds W: 92 L: 70

St. Louis Cardinals W: 87 L: 75

Milwaukee Brewers W: 84 L: 78

Pittsburgh Pirates W: 81 L: 81

Chicago Cubs W: 73 L: 89

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers W: 89 L: 73

San Francisco Giants W: 88 L: 74

Arizona Diamondbacks W: 80 L: 82

Colorado Rockies W: 72 L: 90

San Diego Padres W: 71 L: 91

Playoffs:

AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay defeats Chicago (AL)

NL Wild Card: San Francisco defeats St. Louis

Round 1:

Toronto defeats Tampa Bay (I’m pretty sure the new rules allows them to play each other in the first round)

One fantasy draft strategy a person can consider is picking players based on what team they play for. Personally I believe this is a strategy that can work. Factoring in ballpark, the team’s lineup, the team’s bullpen and other things, you can make decisions on those late round draft picks without having a clue as to who the guy even is.

Top 3 Offensive Teams

When choosing position players you want the most well-rounded you can get. You want someone who hits for average, power, and knocks in a lot of runs. Sorry for stating the obvious, but I needed some sort of introduction here.

Guys like Ryan Braun, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera have consistently hit for average and power. They are much more valuable than say a Ryan Howard who will hit 40 home runs with a .255 average or a Jose Reyes who will hit .330 but only hit 10 home runs and knock in around 60. When the later draft rounds come, and they will come, pick players from these teams:

Toronto Blue Jays

They are the Vegas favorites this season and the American League team I will be pulling for. Their projected lineup looks to be something from the early 90s Blue Jays days with potential league leaders in several categories. I don’t believe they will win it all but surely their offensive numbers will jump up for just about everyone. There’s no more pitching around Jose Bautista. I expect him to have another fine season as long as he stays healthy.

Overlooked Player: Catcher J.P. Arencibia

He may not be the best catcher to take, but as a backup he should do more than most, especially if the Blue Jays live up to the hype.

Washington Nationals

For the most part they are the Blue Jays of the National League. They are well-rounded in many ways. Their ballpark isn’t particularly for hitters however unless you’re in Colorado or San Diego that rarely makes much of a difference. With 36 games against the Mets and Marlins, expect much of this lineup to put up big numbers.

Overlooked Player: Short Stop Ian Desmond

Short stops are not as good as they used to be. Desmond will supplement what was only for a short time a nice offensive position. He jumps around the lineup a bit which may hurt him. Other than that, Desmond could be a good starting SS for any team.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Rather than go with the Rockies here or even the Anaheim Angels, I decided to pick the Diamondbacks. The big outfield in Arizona has supplied many hitters with a few more doubles than home runs they deserved at times, but the positive is down the right and left field lines. With the absence of Justin Upton this year, others will have a chance to step up. The team is young and right now in baseball young is good. There are no Mike Trouts or Bryce Harpers on the team. Still, guys like Jason Kubel, Cody Ross, or youngster Adam Eaton (no relation to the pitcher, I hope) may have a few more pounds to their slugging percentage.

Overlooked Player: First Baseman Paul Goldschmidt

Maybe not the first baseman of everybody’s dreams, Goldschmidt is still a viable candidate to put up some big offensive numbers. Look to add him as a back-up or as a starter if you somehow forget about getting someone like Prince Fielder.